Bishop tackles Ebola outbreak as Australia wraps up its presidency of the UN Security Council

A little after 6am today, few people were on the streets of New York - for good reason, considering it was -2C.

But the below freezing temperature didn’t deter Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who before her last day as President of the United Nations Security Council headed at speed for Central Park on her regular morning run.

The run - or the walk in the case of John Howard - through Central Park has become a bit of a tradition for Australian politicians.

This one with the foreign Minister however, was a bit more energetic than most.

Back at the Australian consular offices, the word was out the minister enjoyed a bit of company on the runs; each morning this week, a good number of New York-based Aussies joined in.

This afternoon, though, it was back to business, with the subject at hand the ongoing battle to stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa.

Australia's two year term on the all-important Security Council ends next month so this was the last time an Australian representative will fill the President's chair for some years to come.